


a mind like a sieve

by orphan_account



Series: committed [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku | Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "There were birds in his dreams, soaring above his head. Eren wanted to reach out to them but he couldn’t move, he was stuck in the dark, stuck in the shadows, even as the birds rained down from the skies and his vision turned red."Eren wakes up outside the walls with no memories. When the Corps bring him in, he gets into some trouble and ends up in the Underground. Luckily, a certain stone-faced bastard (and a blond guy) graciously decide to help him out.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager, eren's face/the ground
Series: committed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763230
Comments: 24
Kudos: 72





	1. one

He could feel the sting where the needle entered his skin, could still hear unintelligible whispers, could still get a whiff of antiseptic, a thread tangled in the overwhelming scent of blood. His head was spinning. The sun, peeking out through branches, hurt his eyes as it rose further into the sky. It was warm, unlike anything he had felt before. It was quiet. Blood roared in his ears, but it was quiet. 

And then it wasn’t. 

He fell asleep again, drowsing off just as he remembered something. A name. 

## —

“I think he’s waking up. Hey kid, are you okay?”

“That’s a stupid question.” 

“How did he even get out here?” 

“Poor thing.”

“He has some weird tattoos around his eyes. Where d'you reckon he got them?”

“Ugh. Why’d we even save him if he’s as good as dead?”

A smack. “Ari!”

“Just sayin’. It’s gonna take another few hours to get back. That’s if we don’t run into titans. Really think he’s gonna make it?”

Silence.

Then… 

“Still… he might have information. We can ask him how he got out there. None of us recognize him. Aren’t you curious?” 

A groan. His head pounded. So many things were going in one ear, out the other. So many thoughts speeding by. There was only one thing that stuck. 

“Eren Jaeger,” he mumbled, then forced himself to crack open an eye. The first thing he saw, a brilliant blue sky, and around him faces poked into his peripheral. They were gazing at him, eyes curious and clouded over with pain. Each of them wore a green cloak, but some were stained red, some were in shreds. The ground under them rumbled. He realized that they were moving in a cart of some sort, and he was surrounded. 

“Is that your name?” One of them asked. She had a kind but tired face. 

He stared at her for a minute. “What?” 

“Your name,” she repeated wearily. “Is your name Eren?”

He thought about it for a moment, glancing at the other faces. He couldn’t place any of them. The only name that came to mind was Eren Jaeger. Strange. He couldn’t seem to remember anything else. He furrowed his brow, trying to concentrate on finding a memory. There weren’t any. He had no idea who he was. “I think so.”

“You think so?” A girl with red hair scoffed. “Great. The runt doesn’t even know his own name.” 

“Shut up, Ari.”

Rubbing his head, he—Eren—pushed himself up into a sitting position. “I don’t remember anything. What… happened?” 

“We’d like to know,” someone mumbled. 

“You were found unconscious. We don’t know how you got there. Do you remember anything at all?” the nicer girl asked.

Eren’s head still spun. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything specific, but it came to a blank. He remembered the smell, though. And the pain. “There was… a doctor,” he mumbled because that was his first thought. Antiseptic. Bandaged arms. Tubes that gagged him. Humming. Footsteps. Pain. Fuzziness. “Not anything specific,” he admitted, “but I think…” He closed his eyes as pain shot up his forehead. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Who are you guys?”

They stared at him. 

“Survey Corps.”

Eren’s face twisted in confusion. “What?”

More silence. 

“Soldiers,” one of the men finally settled on.

Eren tilted his head, meeting his gaze. “Soldiers? Is there a war?”

“He really hit his head hard, didn’t he?” that redhead muttered. Eren felt his ears turn red. Had he said something wrong? Someone smacked the back of her head.

“We fight titans,” one of them said with a grim face. Eren frowned, and the redhead stared at him, incredulous.

“C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t know what titans are.” 

“Do us a favour and shut your mouth,” someone muttered.

“No,” Eren cut in. “I know what titans are.” He didn’t know why, but he did.

“Congratulations,” said the redhead dryly.

“I will push you out of this cart if you don’t shut it.” 

“Your wounds,” one man interrupted, addressing Eren. “How are they?” 

Eren blinked, bewildered. He looked down and realized that his torso was wrapped with a bloodied cloth. He brought his hand to it and pressed against it. It didn’t hurt too much, sore if anything. He started to undo the knot, to the others’ surprise and shock. 

“What are you doing?” the guy grabbed his hand to stop him from unravelling the makeshift bandage. “You wanna bleed out?”

Eren met his eye, confused. “How did I get hurt?”

None of them said anything. He looked down and continued to take off the cloth. They stopped again him.

“Are you suicidal? We found you under a tree, bleeding. I think you were stabbed. You’ve been out since yesterday. It’s a miracle you’re alive.” 

Eren blinked. If he was out for a day, wasn’t that enough time to heal? Why were they so worried? Regardless, he stopped trying to take off the bandage and kept his hands. No one said anything else to him for the rest of the journey, and Eren didn’t try to talk either. His throat was dry enough that it hurt. He didn’t know what to make of his situation. He didn’t even know who he was. He was left to think on his own about what he had lost when his memories disappeared. He wanted to know what happened. Eventually, Eren dozed off once again, exhausted, the bumpy terrain rocking him off to sleep. 

(Eren didn’t dream, but that was probably a good thing. He didn’t realize then how much he would have on his plate.)

## — 

Once they learned that miraculously, Eren was pretty much healed, there wasn’t as much of a rush to get him back. 

“Was he even injured?” the redhead muttered, earning her another slap on the shoulder.

He stayed in the wagon even after they got past the first walls and moved through the cities and towns. The Corps tried to get him to talk but it quickly became obvious that they didn’t know what to do with him, so he just stayed put until they could find their superiors. Someone would be able to help Eren regain his memory, and maybe he had information. He was found outside the walls, after all. Eren fell asleep again at one point, but he knew they had been travelling for at least a day. 

The city they finally stopped in was bustling with people who all looked like they had places to be, and Eren watched them in wonder. It was weird to be crowded after being deserted outside the walls for what may have well been forever, it’s not like Eren knew. People watched the parade of soldiers as they returned. The air was sour, faces were grim, and everyone… was loud. Eren had to cover his ears, which earned him some odd glances from the soldiers. It was a lot to handle, and the moment Eren stepped off the wagon he was whisked away by the mob. He should have stayed with the Corps; they had to question him, report him, something, but Eren couldn’t see straight and the sun was too bright, reflecting on windows and blinding him from every direction and he got lost within minutes. 

He narrowly avoided getting trampled by workers who were carrying crates. A scowl was sent his way. Eren dodged other people until he ended up in an empty alleyway. He sighed, leaning up against the building and closing his eyes. His head pounded. What now?

Eren kicked the dirt and slid down until he was sitting down, then buried his head in his arms. He retraced his footsteps in his head. How did he end up here? The Survey Corps brought him. But before that? Eren tried to focus, tried to remember what happened that led up to him waking up on the wagon. Thinking about it made him dizzy and all he could remember was white, but there was something, a certain smell, a certain voice, something on the tip of his tongue, something that was stuck in the corner of Eren’s brain. All he needed was the tiniest bit of light shed and he could touch it, but as long as he was in the dark he couldn’t quite reach.

His stomach growled. He needed food, didn’t he? And something to drink, soothe his throat. Eren felt like he hadn’t had a thing to eat in years. He looked around. There was a shopkeeper at the other end of the alley, where people were crowded and buying things from the food stand. If he could just sneak over there and grab something to eat, slip away, no one would notice him and his hunger could be quenched for a little while at least, and he could focus on more urgent matters. Eren had to figure out where he was and what was going on, but even more important, he had to regain his memories. There was something he was missing, something important, and he needed to remember.

First things first, food. 

It was a simple plan, really. It didn’t take even a minute to come up with. 

Eren walked over to the edge of the alleyway, on the sidelines of the busy streets. He stood metres away from the stand, watching it inconspicuously, waiting, waiting… 

And then he sprinted, grabbing a loaf of bread and high-tailing out of there. It wasn’t exactly stealthy, and that was the greatest fault in his otherwise flawless scheme. 

Suffice it to say, he was caught within seconds. A man twice his size grabbed him by the arms and twisted them behind his back, making him yelp. He pinned them there until Eren dropped his winnings and fell limp. “Nice try, street rat,” he hissed in his ear. “I haven’t seen you ‘round here before. Oi, pops, what should I do with the runt?” 

The store owner, who was glaring at Eren, shook his head. “Take him to the MP. Looks like scum from the underground. They’ll take care of him.”

Eren tried kicking to try and break free, but it did absolutely nothing for him. His arms were still pinned painfully behind his back. The guy grabbed him by the hair with his other hand and started dragging him across the street. “I hope, for your sake, that you have citizenship,” he spat out as Eren struggled to get on his feet. The next thing he knew, the fist in his hair was gone and his arms were free (and sore) and Eren fell face-first into the dirt. He groaned and looked up. A pair of shiny boots were in front of him. 

“Nasty little runt tried stealing from us. I don’t think he’s from around here,” he muttered, leaving Eren on the ground and walking away. Eren pushed himself up onto his knees, dusting himself off and standing up to face this new person. Slowly, he met his sharp gaze. He looked like a Survey Corp, with the jacket and gear, but he didn’t have a green cape with wings, so Eren wasn’t sure. 

“You got identification? Citizenship?” The man asked boredly. Eren froze. Was that important?

“Um.” That’s all he really needed to say. The man rolled his eyes.

“Alright then, come on. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be and I’ll let it slide, how about that?” The man grabbed Eren’s wrist and started walking. Eren blinked and kept up. He didn’t really have a choice in the matter. He wanted to ask where they were going, but also didn’t want to piss the guy off (not yet at least). They walked in the opposite direction until they got to a less busy part of town. Eren kept his eyes open. The people seemed to walk slower. The sun seemed to be less motivated to shine all the way out here. People glanced his way, but Eren was pretty sure they were looking at the guy dragging him. They got to a… hole in the ground. 

Someone was guarding the hole. “Another one?” the guard asked with the same zeal as everyone else. 

“I don’t care enough to punish him. Do your job better, Chad.” And with that, the guy pushed him towards the guard. Eren stumbled and got a good look at the hole. It wasn’t just a hole; it was a staircase. Eren looked down as far as he could see. It seemed to go down forever. He squinted, craning his neck to see better, when the guard put the heel of his spotless boot against Eren’s back and kicked him forwards. His eyes blew wide as he stumbled forwards and tripped over the first step, falling deeper into the darkness. His arms flailed, trying to find _something_ to grab onto but to no avail. Maybe he screamed. Maybe he called out. But no one was there to help him. 

(He could hear the two of them making listless conversation but he was too busy falling down a staircase to catch any of their words.)

## — 

Eren didn’t really remember falling, or blanking out. When he came to, he was being dragged. Too groggy to do much more than open his eyes, he saw firelight bouncing off the stone walls, darkness straight above him. It was bleak. It wasn’t worth waking up for. He was going to close his eyes again when he saw it.

Spiderman? No, it was a normal person. Normal people. Two of them. But they were flying in the air, gone so quick that Eren wasn’t even sure if they were real. He blinked, then felt the side of his head explode. The world went bleary again, and then it was black.

(There were birds in his dreams, soaring above his head. Eren wanted to reach out to them but he couldn’t move, he was stuck in the dark, stuck in the shadows, even as the birds rained down from the skies and his vision turned red. He shuddered when he thought about it later.)

## — 

When he woke up again he wasn’t anywhere near the staircase. Instead, he was next to a dumpster. His shoulder felt hot to the touch. He tried to move it around a little but it burned. It was broken. Waiting for it to heal would take a couple of hours, so he had to sit tight. Eren examined the rest of his body. He was covered in scratches that were letting off steam. The right half of his face felt especially bruised. They weren’t anything to worry about, they would get better fairly quickly. Leaning back up against the dumpster, looked at his feet and wiggled his toes, realizing that he didn’t have his shoes. Or socks. Or a shirt, for that matter. He still had his trousers though, but they were stained to the point of no return. Maybe they were a nice pair of pants once, white and sturdy, but now they were ripped up and bloody. 

Eren’s stomach growled. He hit the back of his head against the dumpster in frustration. If he was going to end up hungry and injured on the streets anyways then he should have asked a lot more questions. At least then he would have had a better idea of what the hell was going on. He felt panic all of a sudden, heart rate picking up from the realization that he was going to starve here, without knowing where he was or even who he was. 

And then he was saved. 

“See, he’s awake.”

“So?”

Two boys came out from the shadows, pulling off the hoods of their dark capes. They were just teenagers. The shorter one had a scowl on his face that reminded Eren of the redhead from the Survey Corps. The taller one was blond and had a neutral face. They were holding a bundle of clothes, which Eren eyed hopefully. 

“You alright there kid?” the blond one asked, glancing at Eren’s injury. Eren shrugged (or at least, he tried to with one shoulder), but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. His throat was too dry. The shorter one seemed to notice and scoffed, tossing him a water bottle. Eren’s eyes went wide. He fumbled to catch the bottle and opened it, pouring it straight into his mouth. Liquid spilled from the sides of his mouth and dribbled past his chin and onto his bare chest, but Eren didn’t care. He felt alive. He felt more awake. The shorter one scrunched his nose. 

“Disgusting.”

“Water is clean, Levi.” 

“Tch.”

Eren replaced the cap, despite the bottle being almost empty, and shot the two of them a toothy grin. 

“Thanks,” he whispered, pushing himself up to a standing position. The blond one gave him a small smile. 

“Wasn’t a problem.”

The shorter one seemed to disagree, glaring at the blond one before turning to glare at Eren. His eyes were silver and Eren seemed to shrink under his piercing gaze. He didn’t notice the blond one get close to him until he was touching his face. Eren flinched at the sudden contact, then turned to look at the blond, startled. 

“It seems your injuries looked worse than they actually are. Can you move your shoulder?” he asked, not unkindly. Eren held eye contact for another moment before turning to look at his shoulder. He tried rolling it backwards. It hurt enough to make him wince, but he kept moving it.

“Yeah,” he grit out.

“If it hurts then stop, idiot,” the shorter one muttered. 

The blond one looked a bit worried. “When we first saw you it looked dislocated. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just sore now. It’ll heal soon,” Eren said, and out of nowhere it hit him that it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t normal to heal so quickly. He furrowed his brows. How did he know that? A pain shot through his head, sharp enough that it felt like an axe had cut clean through his skull. He closed his eyes tightly. A memory. He wasn’t normal. He wasn’t human. A needle in his arm. Blood. Steam. Lighting. Blood pounding in his ears. Who was he? 

“Oi. Answer the question, brat.” 

Eren opened his eyes, dazed. They were staring at him as if he had grown two heads. Maybe he had. He brought his hands up to his neck to check. At this point, he wasn’t 100% sure where he stood on the line between normal and alien. “What?” he asked dumbly. 

“Your name?” 

He blinked. “Eren.” The blond one nodded and grinned. 

“I’m Farlan, that’s Levi,” he said, pointing a thumb at the shorter one who crossed his arms and glanced away. He looked pissed, but Eren strongly suspected that it wasn’t out of character for him. He stared for a moment, eyes darting between the two of them.

“You were flying,” Eren blurted out, not knowing where it came from. He shut his eyes again as the memory came back to him. They _were_ flying. He saw them when he first came here. Maybe it was them. He might have been a little out of it, but he had nothing to lose by seeming completely insane. When he looked up again though, Farlan looked amused. 

“Yeah. 3DM Gear. We managed to snag some from the MP a while back.” 

“MP?” That was the second time he heard that name. “The guys with the cool jackets?” 

Farlan offered a puzzled frown. “Yeah,” he said slowly, picking out his words, “The Military Police.”

“You hit your head or something?” Levi muttered. Eren suspected that he was being sarcastic, but he nodded anyway. 

“Think so. I lost my memory I guess.” 

The two of them stared at him. Eren didn’t break contact, he gazed curiously back. 

“What’s the last thing you remember, then?” 

He tilted his head slightly, looking up at the sky that wasn’t really there. Instead there was a ceiling dripping with icicles made of stone. “I woke up in a cart with Survey Corps. They brought me here— er, somewhere. Everything before that is… fuzzy.”

They stared at him some more. Eren scratched the back of his neck. Did he say something wrong? He didn’t meet their eyes.

“Survey Corps? You’re… from the surface?” Farlan asked finally, breaking the spell. The surface? Were they underground or something? That would explain why it was so dark and cramped. Levi scoffed, then grabbed his friend’s arm. 

“You helped a rat-faced liar, Farlan. Let’s just go get what we came for.” They thought he was lying. Eren frowned, taking a step forward. 

“What… What did you come for?” he asked. It dawned on him that these two had stopped to try and help Eren, who was a stranger to them. Was it purely out of kindness or pity? Either way, Eren needed to pay them back, didn’t he? 

Levi looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, so Farlan answered, “A heist, you could say. We don’t want to starve.” 

Eren blinked. “Any way I could help?” he asked, just as his stomach growled. Looting for food sounded like a great idea to him. Levi glanced at his bare chest in disgust, throwing the clothes he was holding at him. 

“You’re filthy,” he growled when Eren caught them. 

“We do things in a hygienic way. Clean yourself up first and if you’re not too injured, maybe,” Farlan said helpfully, ignoring Levi’s mumbling protest.

Eren nodded and pulled on the shirt. It wasn’t cold underground, but it wasn’t exactly warm either, so it was nice to have a layer no matter how thin and worn out it was. His trousers were sticky with sweat and dried blood. It would be a relief to change out of them, he thought. As he stripped, Eren heard the two boys talking in hushed whispers. He knew immediately that he was the topic of discussion. 

“... was dislocated… something isn’t adding up…”

“... doesn’t mean we have to help.”

“... look at him, he’s just a kid.”

“So?”

“Levi, he reminds you of yourself. Don’t deny it.” 

The last part was as clear as a bell. Levi scoffed and crossed his arms, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned around and caught Eren looking. “Eavesdropping is rude you know,” he snapped. Eren winced, then nodded. 

“Sorry.”

Levi narrowed his eyes, analyzing him, pinning him with his intense gaze. Eren didn’t dare move, instead, he tried to swallow the knot in his throat. He was intimidated by a guy that was a head shorter than him, but to be fair, Levi was scary, even if he still looked young. His face was sharp, showing little sign of childhood innocence. He had an edge to him that was… very attractive, but that was clear to anyone. Attractive and intimidating, a deadly combination that made Eren squirm in his spot. Finally, Levi grunted and turned around. His cape swished behind him like ripples in a pond. “Fine. It’ll be quicker with three people anyways.” 

Eren grinned. 

(They didn’t ask him too many questions afterwards. They took a risk and put some of their trust in Eren, and he was determined to make sure they wouldn’t regret helping him.)

## — 

There was a lot of waiting involved in their plan. 

“Why don’t you just fly in, take the crates, and get out?” Eren asked. Levi, who was crouched next to him watching the street, spared him a glance. 

“It’s not worth the trouble. Less attention if we do it in a secluded area, plus it’s clean if we do it on the ground. The gear is for a quick getaway.” There was a hint of a sneer in his words but Eren was surprised to get such a straight answer. Levi rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on the empty road. Farlan was surveying the area from on top of a building on the opposite side of the street, ready to give the signal. One whistle meant the target was coming, two meant trouble. They had to stay hidden— the place was deserted and if they loitered around it would cause suspicion.

“Carts come around every month or so with rations. Not everyone can get them, of course. We isolate the last cart in the line and ambush it. Simple enough, yeah?” Farlan had told him while they left the alleyway. They didn’t have to go far because apparently, they had found Eren unconscious in an emptier part of the Underground. It was lucky that they found him, he thought. If it was anyone else, Eren wasn’t sure they’d be so kind and let him tag along.

They heard the rumble of hooves before they heard the whistle. Levi jerked his head to observe the line of carts coming through. There were five of them, covered and pulled by horses, similar to the one Eren was on when he was brought into the walls. They waited until the last cart, which was already lagging behind, got right in front of them. According to Farlan, no one else was coming. They were in the clear. Levi used the 3DM gear to shoot out a wheel and break it. The cart staggered and the horse whined, coming to a halt. The other carts kept going as the driver stepped down to check the wheel. It was too easy. 

Levi was on him before Eren could even blink. He grabbed the driver’s arms and twisted them behind his back, pushing him to the floor and placing a heel on his back. There was another driver coming out, and Levi turned his attention to him as the guy under his boot rolled over and— 

Oh, Eren had a job to do. 

He snuck out and went behind the cart, still trying to watch Levi as he did so. He was outnumbered by two guys who were a lot taller and bigger than him, but Levi was managing. He roundhouse kicked one of them in the face and let them crash onto the floor, barely stirring. Eren opened up the back of the cart, still in a daze. He grabbed a wooden crate and put it down next to him. It was only as he went to grab another one that he realized that he wasn’t alone. Someone, who appeared to just be lounging around in the back of the cart and waiting for an attack before, was now on him quicker than he could blink. If these kinds of heists happened often, Eren thought, then of course they would get more backup. 

Two whistles blew out when Eren hit the ground, the guy on top of him. The impact left him seeing black. Something in his hand glimmered in the low firelight— a knife. Eren’s heart picked up at the sight of it. Without thinking, he brought up his arm and punched him in the jaw with strength he didn’t know he had. It was enough—actually, it was more than enough—giving Eren the window to flip them around and smash him into the ground. He didn't know he had that much strength. The guy was awake, but just barely, looking at Eren in complete shock. He brought his hand to the side of his bloodied head and gawked. Then he slowly slipped out of consciousness, his breathing evening out. Eren sat there for a moment. Time didn’t matter. He felt… oddly at peace, as if he had fought worse, as if he had done it a million times before. It led him back to the million-dollar question: who was he?

“Oi! We still have a job to do,” Levi called out, breaking through his train of thought. Eren blinked and got up slowly. Levi was staring at him with an odd expression. He seemed a bit put off as well, but didn’t say anything, instead grabbing a crate. Eren did the same. 

“Hurry up, we’re clear,” Farlan said, zipping down to them. He looked a bit surprised too but hurried them along. That seemed to break the spell they were all under and the clock seemed to start ticking again. And then it stopped again when Levi bumped into Eren with a pointed look on his face.

“I’m gonna have to carry you.” He frowned. “Not on my back either, you won’t be able to hold on. Like a fucking princess. You good with that?” 

The thought made Eren strangely gleeful. But also nervous. He gulped and nodded, offering a slight smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Levi hid his eyes, looking downwards. “You get to hold two crates,” he muttered, handing him his. Eren stacked them in his arm and tucked his chin on the top one. He looked back at Levi but he wasn't in front of him anymore. Without a warning, he was swept off his feet from behind. Eren’s eyes widened and he almost dropped the crates, but managed to keep hold of them as Levi took off with him in his arms.

(Levi was surprisingly warm.)

## — 

Their apartment was small with very little furniture, which was to be expected. What was unexpected, however, was how clean it was compared to other places in the Underground, but then Eren remembered how Levi scrunched up his nose when he saw how dirty he was, how quick he was to get Eren in clean clothes, and concluded that Levi was a clean freak. Which, he quickly learned, was putting it lightly. The moment they stepped inside, Levi was inspecting the corners of the rooms, pulling a handkerchief over his mouth.

“We were gone for a day,” he mumbled angrily, shaking off a piece of cloth, “a fucking day. How is the shelf already dusty?” He started to aggressively yet effectively clean while cursing under his breath. Farlan, who was leaning against the wall and nibbling on a piece of stale bread, just chuckled at his friend’s antics and picked up a crate. 

“Gonna drop this off for Yan. His legs aren’t doing so well,” he said, stepping outside again. He gave Eren a smile that might’ve said _good luck_ , or it might’ve said _sorry for leaving you alone with Mr. Clean, but I don’t want to get stuck scrubbing the windows again_. He shut the door just as Levi turned around. Their eyes met. 

“Eren,” he barked and Eren shivered. It was the first time he called him his name. “There’s a broom in the corner. You better be good at sweeping or you’re sleeping outside.” 

His heart leapt. That implied that he was welcome to stay with them, at least for a night. He wasn’t sure before, after all, they could have left him on the streets after they stole the food. 

“Yes sir,” he chirped.

Levi froze up. He didn’t turn around, but Eren noticed his shoulders stiffen. “Don’t call me that,” he snapped, but he sounded—dare he say it—embarrassed. “I'm barely older than you, it’s weird…”

“You are?”

“I don’t know,” he said sarcastically, pulling down the handkerchief and turning around. “How old are you?” 

“I… don’t know,” Eren admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Levi stared at him. 

“Right… Well you look like you’re twelve. A _kid_ .” Did he really? Eren didn’t _feel_ that young, but he didn’t feel particularly old either. He realized that he didn’t know what he looked like. He should probably find a mirror soon. 

“But I’m taller than you,” he blurted out. Then, realizing that was rude, Eren turned red. Levi also seemed a little flushed, but he hid his face and shoved the broom in his arms.

“Shut up, brat. Get to cleaning.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Eren said under his breath.

“Fuck off!”

(Eren, though Levi would never admit it, didn’t do a terrible job at cleaning. He inspected the ground later, dragging a finger across the floor and humming in approval when it came back clean.)

## — 

His dreams couldn’t take form that night. He was staring in a mirror, but it took him a moment to realize that the boy in front of him was himself. He hadn’t known that his hair was so unruly, or his eyes were so big, although some deep part of him seemed to laugh because he did know that, it seemed obvious when he was facing it. And then his reflection smiled, even when he frowned, and the smile twisted into something terrifying. His lips seemed to melt off and his hair grew to his shoulders and his skin started to peel and suddenly he was a monster. Everything faded to black after that, but that didn’t mean his dream was over. Instead he felt like he was in a nightmare, one where he was closing his eyes and couldn’t bring himself to open them, no matter how hard he tried. A prick of a needle. His skin burned, but it wasn’t painful. He heard a voice but couldn’t make out words. He tried to move but it felt as if his arms and legs were bound to a table. Then everything felt slower and heavier, and he realized he couldn’t breathe. It felt like he had been dunked in water. His limbs were free now and he was flailing, trying to grab onto something, _anything_ , and then— 

Then his eyes flew open and he shot up, gasping for air. Farlan and Levi were looking at him. Farlan looked concerned and maybe Levi was too but Eren really couldn’t tell. 

“Are you okay?” Farlan asked. Eren thought that was a dumb question. Of course he wasn’t okay, he couldn’t remember who he was and any time he remembered any hint of his past it made him wonder if it was better that he forgot. It was terrifying and though Eren elected not to think about it too much, it still lingered in the back of his head and haunted him. What happened to him? 

“Eh,” was the answer he gave. Farlan still looked worried but Levi just blinked and tossed him a loaf of dried bread. His expression was unreadable. 

Eren ate, but his nightmares still plagued his mind. He didn’t know what was happening but it was so _vivid_ , Eren couldn’t help but wonder if it was a memory resurfacing. If it was, then he didn’t want to know what he had been through. It was lucky he couldn’t see anything. 

“Oi, brat,” Levi called out. Eren blinked and realized that Farlan had already left and he had been spacing out. “I'm going to teach you how to use the gear.”

Eren’s eyes lit up. “I’m gonna fly?” He thought of seeing them flash through while he was dazed, thought of how Farlan flew in to grab the crates on the heist, thought of Levi holding him against his chest, thought of how he could feel his heart racing as they soared through the skies, as the buildings they passed seemed to zoom by. 

“Tch. You’d fall on your face if you tried,” Levi said, breaking him out of his fantasy. “Learn to balance first. Then you can fly.”

Eren offered him a sheepish smile. 

They headed out after Eren fumbled around with Farlan’s 3DM gear for at least half an hour. Levi said he could use his until they got him a set of his own. He had shown Eren how to put it on a couple of times, before giving up and sitting back while watching Eren miserably get tangled in all the straps. When he managed to somehow get his hands stuck behind him, Levi snorted. Eren sent him a dirty look until Levi caved in and gave a hand. 

“You’d be quicker trying to put it on drunk.” 

“‘S not like you were any help.”

Levi gave him a black cape to cover the gear and they set off. Eren hadn’t really had a chance to look at the underground city before but now that they were strolling through inconspicuously, he had a chance to look around. Most of the buildings were crumbling and if there weren’t people mulling around, Eren would have thought they were wandering through abandoned ruins or something. On every block there were bloodstains somewhere, and people peeked out their windows and closed their shutters when they walked by. Not once did Eren feel like he wasn’t being watched. 

That feeling faded away when they came to what seemed like the end of town. Rock walls reached up and towered over them. They were alone now.

“Tell me about the surface,” Levi said out of nowhere, still looking up. Eren glanced at him, surprised. “You weren’t lying, were you? They brought you in from the surface. From outside the walls.”

Eren sighed, kicking dirt and shrugging. “I don’t know. It was warm. Things were too fast. I didn’t think about it… but…” He remembered how bright it all was at first, how it was almost too much to handle, how rushed he was, trying to get away from… who? Every time he tried to remember, he felt trapped. “I think before… I wasn’t outside much either… Maybe I was born underground too. I don’t know.”

Levi let out a breath and nodded. “Your nightmare. You don’t remember your past, but it must have been pretty fucking bad.” So he noticed. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, put the pieces together. Eren felt shy all of a sudden. He shuddered when a sudden chill hit him.

“Yeah…” He looked down at the gear strapped to his waist and decided that both he and Levi were hopeless in awkward situations, so therefore they should be avoided at all costs. “Okay, let’s do this. I’m gonna fly,” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. Levi looked relieved for a split second before going stoic again. 

“Not today, brat.” 

They got started after that. Levi showed Eren how to shoot the cables and helped him hang between two structures. He showed him how to retract the wires too, so it wasn’t long before he was standing in the center with the cables still loose around him, his fingers on the triggers. 

“The goal is to find your center of balance. Think you can do that?” Levi asked, watching in amusement as Eren practically vibrated with enthusiasm and determination. 

“Yes sir!” He shot him a sly grin.

Levi’s eye twitched, but so did the corner of his mouth. “You’re dead to me. I hope you fall on your face.”

Eren laughed at that before taking a deep breath. He retracted the cables. As they tightened, his feet left the ground. For a few moments, he balanced a couple of centimeters in the air. He looked up at Levi excitedly. 

“Levi, I’m doing it! I’m—”

Eren proceeded to lose his balance and fell forward to kiss the ground. Violently. 

“Nevermind,” he mumbled with a mouth full of dirt. 

Levi stared. And stared. And stared.

And then he started to _laugh_ , that stone-faced bastard. “Karma’s a bitch,” he said, holding out a hand to help Eren up. Eren took it, glowering, but that only seemed to amuse Levi more. Eren could only imagine why. 

“Alright princess, we don’t have all day,” he said, helping Eren back up and holding him by the waist so he didn’t lose his balance. “Though if you have a concussion, that will only make this harder. Ready?”

Eren was red in the face, and it wasn’t because he fell. “Ready,” he grumbled, acting pouty when he was really eager to try again. He wanted to get it _right_. He wanted to show Levi that he could do it, prove himself to him.

Levi let go. Eren started wobbling, but this time he seemed to find his centre. He shut his eyes and knitted his eyebrows. He could do this. Eren didn’t know anything about himself but his name, so he had to learn his limits, and the only way to do that was by going beyond. (Plus ultra!)

He was so concentrated he almost missed when Levi addressed him.

“Tch. You look constipated. Being tense won’t do you any good when you’re trying to control how you move.” Eren opened his eyes and immediately met Levi’s. He was standing closer than he realized. Eren could see his eyelashes, could count them if he wanted to. He noticed that his eyes weren’t just silver, they had a pale blue tint to them. He was standing too close, too close, and—

“Careful. You’re still tense, idiot.” Eren was hanging parallel to the ground, his hair in his eyes and his arms hanging limply. He blinked and realized that Levi had caught him by the shoulders. He found control of his limbs again and started flailing, which only made Levi’s grip tighten. “Calm down,” he ordered. 

“Y-yes sir.” Really, it was an awful time to tease him, but Eren quickly became certain that he had no sense of self-preservation even when he had his memory.

“I give up,” Levi deadpanned and let go of Eren. His face met the ground yet again in a passionate embrace. 

“Corporal, please,” he sputtered, scrambling to get up but beaming despite his fall. 

“Corporal?” he repeated, exasperated. 

“Would you rather I call you Captain? Or…” Eren grinned. “Levi Heichou!” 

Levi gave him the blankest look he could muster. He put his shoe on top of his head and pushed his face gently back into the dirt. “You would do well to shut up, soldier.” Eren immediately lit up. Levi immediately regretted playing along. They made for a strange pair indeed. He took his shoe off of his head and Eren looked up at him with a huge grin on his face. His cheeks were dirty and bleeding a little but he didn’t mind. He used his arms and pushed himself up, but maybe he underestimated his strength a little because he swung backwards and almost kicked Levi in the face. He managed to catch himself by reaching his arms back and falling into a bridge.

“Sorry Heichou!” he said as he flipped back upright. Levi looked completely thrown-off for a split-second, then he found his composure and pretended that he never lost it because that’s Levi for you. 

“You’re ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m trying to teach a brat like you,” he muttered, but there was nothing harsh in his voice. He almost sounded fond.

  
“But sir, I figured it out, didn’t I?” Eren was watching him with his head tilted curiously like a child, innocent enough but his grin was mischievous… and yeah, he was hanging steady, balancing as if he’d been doing it for years. “All that swinging around helped me find middle ground.” 

Levi just sighed. “I’m going to leave you here,” he said. Eren’s eyes blew wide as Levi turned around and started to walk away. He started frantically moving his arms.

“Levi, wait for me—mph!” 

Eren’s face and the ground: star-crossed lovers ‘till the end. 

(Levi ended up not leaving so abruptly. They both stayed while Eren practiced and relentlessly teased Levi. Eren even caught Levi cracking a smile, but Levi would never admit to it.)

## —

Farlan came back half an hour after they did. He had to do a double-take when he saw Eren. “What happened to your face?” 

“He fell,” Levi answered for him before pulling up his handkerchief and going back to sweeping. Farlan looked at Levi wide-eyed, and back at Eren. He was sitting miserably on a mat, pouting like a child… a child who got beaten to a pulp by a gang of raccoons.

“You… fell?”

Eren glared at Levi, dabbing at his bloody nose. “Yeah. I fell. Face-first into the ground. Fourteen times.”

“He wanted to fly,” Levi said with a shrug. “Don’t blame me.” 

“Heichou, you pushed me!” 

Farlan blinked slowly. It seems he didn’t have to worry about Levi being cold (or at least colder than usual) to Eren anymore. “Heichou…?”

Levi seemed to turn a shade that was slightly closer to red than his usual skin tone. Out of anger or embarrassment, Farlan didn’t know. “Fucking brat keeps calling me that,” he scowled, but quickly turned to hide his face. Farlan raised an eyebrow. His life just got a bit more interesting.

(No one said anything about how Eren’s face seemed to be steaming, or how quickly he seemed to heal. Eren was grateful.)

## —

“Punch me,” Levi said to him one morning. 

“What?” Eren was rubbing his eyes, barely awake.

“You heard me, brat.”

“But…” He furrowed his brow, cocking his head to the side. “But why?”

“The other day you knocked out a guy,” Levi said, as if that would clear up everything.

“Yes..?”

“Meaning you have strength. But you have no idea how to use it.”

He blinked. “Oh.” 

“So punch me. I want to see how strong you are and how shitty your form is.”

He hesitated. “What if I hurt you?” 

Levi rolled his eyes. “Punch me.”

“But Heichou—”

“Fine. Punch Farlan then.” Farlan, who was sweeping nearby, stopped and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

“How about you don’t punch anyone. There are other ways to test strength.”

“Tch. Whatever.”

(Eren ended up punching a boulder. He split his knuckles but he also ended up splitting the boulder. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed his steaming wound as Levi and Farlan stared in awe.

“Freakish powers,” Levi grumbled. “Meanwhile it takes me weeks to heal from a dislocated shoulder.”

“He’s from another dimension,” Farlan decided. “A dimension filled with superheroes instead of titans.”

“This is completely unfair.”

It made Eren smile)

## — 

His nightmares didn’t wait. They jumped onto him the moment he closed his eyes, grabbed him and forced him down. One night, a month after meeting them, Eren had a particularly bad one. He was drowning again but this time he was chained and his eyes were open and he couldn’t scream. There was a light right above him, burning into his eyes. He felt like he was being watched, being studied, he could hear the scratching of pencil on paper and footsteps pacing in circles, could hear someone humming a tune that he recognized—it chilled him to the bone. There was screaming, growing gradually louder until Eren was shaking, until he was fighting against his bonds wildly, but the more he fought the tighter they seemed to get and there was water on his face and he could breathe again and— 

And there was pain. He was on fire. He realized that he was the one who was screaming, and the realization only seemed to make things worse. It was a dream, so he couldn’t physically feel the pain, but it was just as real, just as real because— 

He was staring at the ceiling one night, hyperventilating. The blanket around him was too tight so he struggled to get it off him as quickly as possible, but it only resulted in him getting even more tangled in it. He made a frustrated sound, but he was still breathing fast, he was still shaking. Maybe it wasn’t a dream; maybe it was a memory. 

“Eren? Hey, calm down. Breathe.” Levi was by his side so suddenly that Eren jumped back, looking at him with wild eyes and his arms curled around himself defensively. Levi wasn’t fazed though. He put his hands up calmly, like he was dealing with a scared animal. “You’re safe, just breathe,” he said softly. Eren stared at him, trying to calm his heart, which only seemed to beat faster when in Levi’s proximity. “I have them too. Nightmares, I mean,” Levi confessed, speaking in a low, soothing voice that seemed to speak its way into unravelling the chains that held onto Eren’s lungs. “Just remember that they aren’t real.” Eren blinked a couple of times and realized that he had tears in his eyes. But it seemed just a bit easier to breathe, and to both of their surprise, Eren let out a dry, shaky chuckle.

“What if they are though?” he asked, his voice hoarse. When Levi didn’t answer, Eren grabbed his hand and tugged him a little closer. “Can you stay.” His voice was barely above a whisper. Levi tensed up, then seemed to relax a little. 

“Okay.” 

It was kind of dumb to ask because the boys slept on mats on the ground, six feet apart from each other (sometimes they fell asleep on the couch). Eren didn’t know what he meant by “stay,” because it’s not like Levi would have left. It’s his house after all. If anything, Eren would’ve been the one leaving if they kicked him out. Levi seemed to interpret it as coming closer to him and sleeping next to him. He dragged his pillow next to his and planted himself centimetres away, so close that their noses almost touched.

“You wanna tell me about it?” Levi asked somewhat awkwardly. Eren blinked. 

“Not really,” Eren mumbled. “Sorry for waking you.”

Levi shrugged, yawning a little. “It’s not like I sleep much anyway. As I said before, I have them too.” He closed his eyes sleepily, and Eren swore he saw a hint of a smile. “Let’s suffer together.” 

It was a long night, and Eren stayed awake for hours after that. He had a lot to think about. But still, even as he tortured himself by trying to analyze his nightmares, tried to think back and just remember, sometimes his thoughts were interrupted and Eren found himself wondering if Levi was asleep. His chest went up and down slowly, his breathing was even and his face was relaxed, so Eren assumed he was. He smiled a little and slowly brought his hand out to find Levi’s wrist. He pressed his thumb against his skin until he felt it— a soft thumping that proved Levi was alive, proved he was real. Eren didn’t know why he found it comforting but he did, and he felt himself relax for the first time since he woke up. He sighed and buried his head in his pillow, scooting the tiniest bit closer, still holding his wrist. 

“Why are you trying to find my pulse,” Levi murmured, his eyes fluttering open to look at Eren. His expression gave no hint to how he was feeling, which was usual. Eren turned red. 

“I don’t know. It’s comforting.” 

Levi looked at him curiously but didn’t pull away. “If it helps.” 

So Eren held Levi’s wrist, thumbing his pulse. He followed the soft thumping, used it as a guide to even his own breathing. It worked a little. Eren still thought about his dream and his past because those thoughts would never leave him, not really. He still stared at the ceiling and wondered if sleep would ever take him back peacefully, but he was calmer now and it was reassuring to know that Levi was right next to him, awake and alive and as pacified as he was.

(They both eventually fell asleep though, just as the sun rose. Farlan found them tangled up together. Eren was snoring and hanging onto Levi like a koala bear and Levi had taken most of the blanket and was drooling on it with Eren’s head tucked under his chin. It was a sight to behold. Farlan had never seen Levi looking so peaceful. He figured that they needed the sleep and didn’t try to wake them. He didn’t ask about it later when they woke up either, just chuckled a little as they both turned red, choosing to deny that they had been subconsciously cuddling.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a tad fast-paced, but i'm no good at slow burn.
> 
> by the way, eren is thirteen, levi is fifteen, farlan is sixteen, and isabel (who's popping in next chapter) is like eleven. i changed things up a bit because the age gap is actually terrifying.
> 
> the 104th will show up... eventually. 
> 
> if you made it this far, then i offer you my first-born child.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> isabel pops into the boys' lives. levi can't play chess. bets are made. fluff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, spoilers for a choice with no regrets for this chapter and the next. if that wasn't obvious.
> 
> i tried. the ending might seem rushed but i wanted to get this out. by the way, i'm trying to update every 2-3 weeks. might take longer though, who knows?
> 
> man... maybe i should find a beta...

Eren had been living with them for eight months when there was a bang on their door. They all stood up when they heard it, alert. Eren noticed something flashing out of Levi’s pocket, just in case. 

None of them really knew how, but in a very short amount of time they gained allies in gangs, but with that they also created many enemies. Levi started getting into more fights, and he started winning more fights, which only caused people to challenge and seek him out. He was starting to become infamous in the Underground, but Levi didn’t seem bothered by it at all. Except, of course, when people came in trying to knock down their door and make a mess of their apartment. Then he got pretty pissed.

So yeah, when there was a knock on their door, the three boys had learned to be cautious. 

Farlan threw it open. A girl fell in, clutching her stomach and breathing hard. 

“Oh. It’s just a kid.”

She took a sharp breath, before huffing out, “I’m not a kid.” 

“You got the floor dirty,” Levi grumbled. 

“Are you okay? Can you move?” Eren asked, crouching down a bit. 

“Of course I can move!” She started to get on her knees, stumbling a little as she did. Eren noticed that she was holding something against her chest, but didn’t say anything, not yet. He glanced at Levi, who was watching her intensely. 

“She has balls. Eren, you could learn something from her.” 

“Fuck off.” 

They heard a shout from outside and the girl seemed to freeze, before scrambling to get up quicker. Instead, she fell back against the door. Farlan glanced outside and Eren kneeled next to her to see how badly she was hurt. 

“Tch. You’re being chased? We can’t afford the trouble,” Levi said, crossing his arms. Eren glared at him. 

“We can’t afford anything  _ but _ trouble, Levi, don’t be an asshole.” Eren knew he was just trying to scare her off and be intimidating. Somewhere in there, he was a softie who cared, who saw himself in every lost kid on the streets. It’s exactly what he did the first time Eren met him, and he had only gotten colder to outsiders as time passed. But Eren knew they would help the girl. Either that and deal with a couple of thugs, or leave her at the mercy of the cold world. It wasn’t a very difficult choice. 

Levi and Farlan stood against the doorway with their arms crossed, expressions black, knives hidden. A couple of men stumbled onto their street, talking amongst each other. They spotted them 

“Hey, a little girl came running ‘round here. You seen her?” Farlan didn’t say anything. Levi picked at his nails. The guy started to tap his foot impatient, before storming up their front steps. “Oi, don’t ignore me, —oh hey, I found her!” He glanced at Levi and scowled. “You’re her friends?

“Not at all,” Levi said cooly. Eren spared him a glance and started glaring at the men, standing up. No one seemed to really notice him though. Isabel looked up at him curiously.

“Good. Then you’ll have no problem handing the bitch over? There'll be consequences if you don’t.” 

“She tried getting past the stairwell without paying. The punishment is prosecution,” one of the other guys said, joining him on the ledge and narrowing his eyes. “You’ll be charged for being her accomplice if you don’t hurry up.” 

Farlan crossed his arms. Levi didn’t move a muscle. Eren was absolutely fuming. He managed to restrain himself, but anger was boiling inside him. Over the past few months he was learning about himself, and one thing that stood out was that he was completely and utterly reckless. 

“Good grief, I don’t care anymore. Move away if you know what’s good for you,” the meanest-looking guy said. Unfortunately, Eren did not know what was good for him, so he was practically fuming as he yelled and charged in, punching the guy in the face. 

“She’s just a kid, you bastard!” There was an audible crack and blood started spurting out his nose. Eren had tried to figure out how to somewhat control his strength after he learned that he had a freakish amount of it for no reason whatsoever, but that didn’t mean he was good at it.

Still, he didn’t use all his strength, and so the guy was still alive and standing. And now very angry. He wiped away the blood on his face and dodged another punch from Eren, who stumbled from his own force. “You little shit, where’d you come from?” the guy asked, grabbing Eren’s arm and yanking him down to grab him by the hair.

“Let go of me!” Eren snarled, “I’ll kill you, I swear—” Before Eren could react, before he could do anything at all, in the corner of his vision he saw Levi’s eyes widen just the slightest, and then there was blood spraying around him. The guy was yelling and stumbling back.

Eren glanced at Levi. His knife was in the air, shimmering red, his irises were dark. “Don’t touch him with your dirty hands,” he growled. Eren looked at the guy and realized that Levi had cut a huge gash on his wrist. He would have cut it off, Eren knew, but that would leave even more of a mess. 

“We don’t do things like that here. Wash your hands next time you come,” Farlan said. He sounded amused but looked just as terrifying, pale eyes gleaming, a smirk playing on his lips. And then there was Eren, who wasn’t as composed as the other two, but was practically growling. He was just as intimidating as Levi or Farlan, but more in the way you were scared of a wolf, an out-of-control threat right in front of you, rather than scared of death, of the unknown. 

“They’re insane, let’s get out of here,” one said and all of them ran and didn’t look back, fleeing with their tails between their legs. 

Levi took a handkerchief out of his pocket and shook it, before cleaning off his knife. He frowned when he saw the blood on the ground. “The floor is filthy,” he muttered, before looking up and meeting Eren’s eye. “You good?” 

Eren smiled a little and nodded, holding his gaze for a little longer than he needed to before turning to the girl. “How long are you going to keep it hidden?” 

The girl raised her eyebrows, surprised. Before she could say anything, Levi scoffed. 

“It’ll die, you know.” 

“No it won’t,” Eren cut in stubbornly, then took the bird gently from her hands. Farlan looked surprised, he hadn’t noticed the small creature until then. He bent down to get a closer look. 

“A bird?” 

The girl looked at the frail creature with a sad smile. “It was lost. I thought I’d bring it back to the surface, so it could be free, y’know?”

“That’s why they were after you?” Eren asked, incredulous. She nodded. 

“It wouldn’t be able to fly up there with its wing injured like that,” Levi said, not looking up. He had grabbed a rag and started scrubbing the ground. He didn’t want the blood to stain the wood.

“Huh? It’s not…” The girl took the bird back from Eren and examined it, tilting her head to the side. Her face fell. “Its wings aren’t supposed to be bent like that?” 

“No, it’s not,” Levi deadpanned, before turning to Eren. “Oi brat, go grab the mop and help me.” 

“Yes sir.” He shot him a goofy grin and mock salute that made Levi groan. 

“Here,” Farlan said to the girl. “Let’s get it bandaged up.” He held out a hand to help the girl up and she took it gratefully. Eren came back with a mop and tried balancing his hands on it so he could lean forward casually like how people did with canes. He wanted to look just as cool Levi and Farlan did because first impressions were everything, you know? It didn’t work. Eren fell forward, and as he did he knocked over the pail of water that Levi had brought over to aid in cleaning. It spilled everywhere and splashed as Eren landed on his face. Farlan jumped back to avoid getting his socks wet (because wet socks were the worst) and Isabel started laughing. Levi started rubbing his temple with his fingertips. He was  _ fuming _ .

“Water is clean,” he muttered to himself under his breath. “ _ Water is fucking clean _ .” He took a few calming breaths as Eren sat up awkwardly, holding his nose because it had started to bleed. 

“It’s always my face. It’s like a fucking magnet, I swear,” Eren sighed. 

“Um.” the girl blinked. “Why is there steam coming out of your nose?” 

There was indeed steam coming out of his nose. Eren tried to cover it.

“I can explain,” he said.

“No he can’t,” Levi cut in.

“No I can’t,” Eren agreed. “I think it’s magic.”

“It’s definitely magic,” Farlan said from the couch where he was bandaging up the bird’s wings. The girl perked up and skipped over to him, smiling at the little bird. 

“You’re really good. Thanks for helping me, I’m Isabel by the way,” she said, eyes darting between all three of them. Eren had somehow gotten the water pail stuck on his head and his clothes were drenched, but he offered her a thumbs up. Levi didn’t say anything, he was cursing and trying to help Eren free his head. Farlan offered her a smile. 

“I’m Farlan.” He pointed his thumb to the other two and grinned. “The short one’s Levi, the dumb one’s Eren.” 

“Hey! I’m not dumb!” Eren cried, finally managing to get the damn bucket off. It clattered as it hit the ground. Levi wasn’t amused, but he finally looked at Isabel. He didn’t scowl at her, which was his way of being friendly. She nodded and grinned. 

“Farlan,” she tests out his name, looking at him. Then she looks over at the pair by the door. “Can I call you Big Bro?” They both turn around, looking at her curiously.

“Sure,” Eren chirps proudly. Isabel shakes her head.

“I meant Levi.” 

His face falls. “Oh.”

Isabel frowns, then taps her chin. “I’ll call you Little Bro!”

“But I’m taller than him! And older than you!” 

“You don’t know that,” Levi muttered. Eren looked at him and crossed his arms. 

“I’m  _ at least _ thirteen,” he insisted.

“Still a child.” 

“So are you!” 

“What about me?” Farlan asked Isabel, interrupting their banter. “Do I get a nickname?”

Isabel, who was staring at the two curiously, looked at him for a moment and leaned back against the couch. She looked deep in thought until she perked up and snapped her fingers. “I’ll call you Gramps, ‘cause you’re the biggest.” 

Farlan frowned, but Eren started to laugh. “I like her. She’s staying, right?” 

Isabel’s eyes lit up. “Can I? Oh, I see you guys using 3DM gear all the time and I’ve always wanted to join you, can you teach me?” She started bouncing excitedly in her seat. Eren grinned and started to say something when Levi cut him off. 

“No.”

Isabel’s face fell. Eren whirled his head around to look at him. His face was as black as ever and Eren flicked his head in annoyance. “Heichou, you’re an asshole.” Levi narrowed his eyes and flicked him back. 

“You didn’t let me finish, brat.” He turned to Isabel. “No. Not until you learn to clean up after yourself. It’s your fault the place is a mess again,” he complained, picking up the mop that Eren dropped. The corner of his eye twitched when he noticed the spilt water was turning pink from the blood from before. “Tch.” He started to mop vigorously, almost hitting Eren in the balls with the end of the pole.

Isabel was overjoyed. “Thank you so much! I’ll keep the place clean, oh, I swear I will.”

But her words fell on deaf ears.

“That  _ hurt _ , Heichou!” 

“Stop calling me that and maybe I’ll be more careful.” 

“Bur sir,” he gasped, “you can’t possibly expect me to address my commanding officer informally.” 

“Shut up, brat.” 

“Make me.” 

Levi went in to hit him in the balls with the end of his mop again. Eren dodged it and stuck out his tongue. 

“You’re such a child,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Isabel leaned over to Farlan and whispered “Hey, are they dating or something?” But it wasn’t really a whisper because Levi and Eren heard her. The comment rendered them silent and they both turned red.

Farlan, ignoring their embarrassment, replied with a smirk, “Not yet. You’ll get used to it.” 

(When Isabel found out that they couldn’t sleep without each other, she looked at Farlan with wide eyes. He simply shrugged. “I bet you anything that Levi’ll make the first move,” he offered.

She grinned. “You’re on, Gramps.”

Farlan cringed at the nickname.)

##  —

Isabel was a lot better at balancing than Eren was. She mastered it within a couple of days and Levi let her fly within the week. This little fact made Eren the slightest bit jealous. 

“It took me two weeks. You made me hang off a building for three hours for absolutely no reason!”  
“There was a reason,” Levi said evenly, not looking up from his sweeping. They were waiting for Isabel to get her gear on (which she could do in under five minutes, to Eren’s dismay) so that she could have her first flying lesson. They had even managed to get her her own gear a few days after she arrived. It took Eren a month to get his, and he was forced to practice whenever Farlan wasn’t using his. Levi wouldn’t let him touch his gear. 

“So you could mess with me?”

“Well, yes. But your balance was horrific. The exercises helped you.”

Eren crossed his arms and grumbled, “ _ fuck you _ ,” but he couldn’t argue. His balance was still a bit off if he didn’t focus but after months of training, he was a lot better. Closer to Farlan’s level of skill, maybe. But Levi was miles ahead of all of them. He was a natural on the 3DM gear, he moved like the cables were an extension of his body, with the grace that the rest of them lacked, with the skill that could rival the Military Police. He was a pretty great teacher too, as long as you weren’t Eren. With Eren, the lessons often got off track, they would relentlessly tease and annoy each other, and there was a pretty good chance Eren would end up with a nosebleed and a mouth full of dirt. Levi secretly found it hilarious.

“Right, I’m ready,” Isabel said with a grin, grabbing Eren’s wrist and dragging him out the door with Levi joined at his hip. “Where’s Gramps?” 

“Busy,” Levi deadpanned. Isabel frowned.

“He’s always busy.” While Eren and Isabel messed around and Levi got into the occasional fight and looked intimidating to scare people off, Farlan did all the useful stuff for their group. He made sure they didn’t lose their apartment, negotiated with the other gangs and overall tried to keep peace and make allies. He was deeply rooted in their Underground system and therefore was busy a lot.

“Not anymore, I’m not. I’ll come,” Farlan said out of nowhere, coming in through the doorway, already in his gear. All three pairs of eyes turned to him. He had been gone for a while. 

“Your lip is bleeding,” Eren pointed out. 

Farlan waved it off, bringing his fingers up to his mouth gently as if he didn’t realize the wound was there. “You’re bleeding every time I see you,” he teased.

“Blame Levi Heichou for that.”

Levi sent Eren a glare. Eren glared back. It made Isabel laugh. 

They left, setting off on the gear as soon as they stepped outside. 

Eren thought it was completely unfair how quickly Isabel got the hang of flying. She was a bit wobblier than Eren had been his first time, but they were already weaving through the buildings on the edge of the Underground. Eren stayed ahead of her, showing her where to go (and also trying to show off his speed, though he was a bit slower than usual, fatigued from a particularly restless night). Levi and Farlan stayed behind her, watching her form, ready to sweep in if she lost her balance and occasionally shouting out helpful tips. She was grinning ear to ear. 

“This is awesome!” she squealed. Farlan chuckled. Levi rolled his eyes. Eren scoffed in a very Levi-like way, but he knew exactly where she was coming from. He had learned to hide the giddiness that came with flying after weeks of practice, but he still loved the kick of adrenaline that shot through his body whenever he took off, the impossible feeling of invincibility he had while in the air. Eren, who was still leading, didn’t really pay attention to where they were going for a while. He didn’t realize this until Levi shouted at him to stop. This interruption resulted in him  _ almost _ losing his balance and falling on his face. But he didn’t! Eren managed to shoot his cables and grapple onto a building just before he hit the ground, and he caught himself. Once his feet were planted on the floor and they  _ weren’t _ unsteady, he fist-pumped. Isabel landed by him, although she landed too quickly and came in sliding on her ass, but she didn’t seem to mind. Farlan landed like a normal person and went to go help her up. Levi stopped as gracefully as ever, the bastard. 

“You didn’t fall,” he said with a hum that was supposed to be approving, but it was more questioning.

“You sound disappointed.” 

He looked at him blankly. “I am.” 

“Levi Heichou!” 

“Stop with the Heichou-ing.” But he didn’t really mean it. Eren had been teasing him for months and Levi never actually went through with his threats. He almost found the nickname… endearing. 

“Stop flirting, you two, and c’mere.” Isabel was still sitting on the ground, but she had scooted closer to the rocks and was looking at something behind them. Farlan was crouching next to her, trying to move a boulder that was in their way. Curious, the other two came closer. 

There was a hole behind the boulder, barred but big enough for them to fit through. 

“One of the vents,” Farlan murmured. “It’s bigger and closer to the ground. Maybe it was the original design until people started slipping through them. There were probably more, but they were covered up. I guess they forgot about this one.”

“It leads to the surface? Oh, Big Bro, we should explore!” Isabel cried, shooting up and grabbing Levi’s arm. His eye twitched but he didn’t move away, instead he came closer to look at the vent. 

“Eren,” he said sharply. “Can you move this boulder?”

Eren’s eyes lit up. “Yes sir!”

He pushed it out of the way as if it was made of feathers. Once it was far enough that they could slip through the hole easily, he yawned, shot Levi a toothy grin and leaned up against it to try and look cool. Isabel gawked. Farlan smirked. Levi, the asshole that he was, was as blank-faced as ever. Eren deflated and lifted his weight off the rock. 

“Is… that normal?” Isabel asked, her eyes wide and excited. Farlan shrugged. She started squealing. “Little Bro, that’s so cool! Does it have something to do with how you start steaming? Or how quickly you heal? Holy fuck, you  _ are _ magical!” 

“Language, Isabel,” Levi chided. “You’re a  _ child _ .”

Eren flicked his head. “So are you.”

“Fuck off.” 

“Language, Levi,” Farlan said without looking, ducking into the cave. Isabel was already inside, looking around eagerly with every step she took.

“Fuck you,” Levi muttered, grabbing Eren’s sleeve and following them in. Eren let himself be dragged, a dopey grin on his lips. 

It was literally a cave. Spooky looking and damp. There was about an inch of water and Levi scowled and swore under his breath, but he let his shoes soak and kept going. Farlan muttered something about wet socks. Isabel poked at a rock that was balancing on another rock. It fell and broke in half, making a loud splash along with it. The sound made Eren jump, nearly in Levi’s arms. Levi pushed him off, and he stumbled in the water, splashing enough to get them both wet. Levi’s lip curled. “Disgusting.”

“Maybe it’s  _ haunted _ !” Isabel whispered loudly, grinning. 

Farlan looked back at them, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head. He waved his hand and gestured at them to come closer. “I think I see light up here.”

All three of them turned their heads. Even Levi was enticed. “Light?” 

They crept up behind Farlan and indeed, there was a small crawl space, three bars covering it, with light peeking through at the end. 

“You don’t think…” Farlan started, but he really didn’t have to finish because they all knew what he was thinking. This might lead to the surface. 

Isabel pushed her way to the front. “I’m the smallest, I’m going in first,” she declared. Levi looked like he might argue against going in but he didn’t—he was much too curious. The boys watched as Isabel slipped between the bars and shimmied her way through the crawl space. “You guys can fit. It’s not as narrow as it looks,” she called back, and continued on her way. When she went a little further, she let out a small gasp. 

“What is it?” 

“The  _ sun _ !”

“Holy shit.” Levi pushed his way through (being the second shortest, it was only fair) and started crawling through. “It’s too fucking bright,” he grumbled once he got to the other side, but he also sounded a bit dazed. Eren had literally seen the sun a couple months ago, so he didn’t particularly care and let Farlan go ahead of him. Levi was right, after all. The sun  _ was _ bright.

Once Eren got to the other side though, he understood the hype. It was a cave, but above them the ground was open and the skies were clear, clear enough that if they were really looking through thoroughly cleaned glass then Levi would be satisfied. But it wasn’t glass. It’s beauty that kicked Eren in the gut, it was breathtaking, nothing like when he was in the blinding city when the people crowded him. That was unpleasant. This was calm. This was a different perspective. Eren could only imagine how it felt for the other three, who had lived in the dark, in the Underground for their entire lives. They marveled, taking in the scene.

Isabel broke the silence. “We could go up there. It wouldn’t be hard to get up with our gear. And we could live in peace, couldn’t we?” It was a nice thought. Eren could imagine it. He remembered passing by fields that seemed to go on forever when he was with the Corps, and every once in a while the wagon passed by a cottage, ot even sometimes a village. If they ran out there, where it was less dense and the people were kinder and the sun shone and no one bothered them, it would be paradise.

“We can’t,” Levi said bluntly, but there was a wrinkle in his forehead, one that showed that he was thinking hard about it. “We don’t have citizenship. If we were caught, it would be the end of the line. The MP have seen us before, they don’t give a shit about us if we stay underground, but we’d be killed if they found us up there. Without money or any connections, it would also be hard to get on our feet. Down here we have a reputation and we have allies and up there, we have nothing.”

Eren looked at Levi, and then back at the sky. Something, the shape of the clouds, the crows cutting through, something about it triggered a memory in Eren’s head. Not a new one, not one about his previous life. In the past eight months, Eren had tried so hard to just remember, but it was like he was born on the battlefield outside the walls. The only hints he could get about his previous life were from the nightmares he had, and those were mostly just feelings and Eren tried to ignore them. Looking up at the sky reminded him of his earliest memory, waking up under a tree outside the walls and being conscious for what could have just been a moment or it could have been hours when he was injured and just waiting, waiting for  _ what _ ? That was where the Survey Corps found him, and that was where looking up at the sky took him. If he went up there, if he could go to where it all started, was it possible that it would help him unlock more memories? Eren was from up there, was it possible that he left something behind?

His eyes shone. “If there’s even the slightest chance that we could have a better life if we go up there, isn’t it worth taking the risk?” Eren looked at the others before his gaze rested on Levi. He was frowning, the wrinkle between his brows even deeper. 

“Is it worth dying for?” he asked. “What we have down here isn’t ideal, but at least we’re alive.”

Eren clenched his fist. “What’s the point in surviving if we aren’t  _ living _ ?” 

Levi didn’t say a thing, didn’t even look him in the eye. Farlan coughed awkwardly to try and ease the tension. 

“Isabel, your bird,” he reminded her quietly. She brightened immediately, eyes shining in the sunlight. 

“Bernie! We can let him go here. He’ll be able to get back to the surface.” Her voice dropped on the last word, but she was still beaming. Eren and Levi both looked at her. Levi nodded. Eren grinned. 

“I can go back and get him. His wings are almost fully healed, I think Eren rubbed off on him.”

“Now only if he would rub off on the rest of us. My ankle still hurts from when I twisted it last month,” Levi muttered.

Eren scoffed. “Maybe if you were a better person, sir. Karma doesn’t favour douchebags.” 

“Is that why you keep falling on your face?” he shot back.

Eren made distressed animal noises. “There are lots of reasons I fall on my face, okay? Half the time it’s because of you.” 

“Yeah, and the other half the time it’s because of your own big head weighing you down.”

“This is why you don’t have magic healing powers Heichou,” Eren said loudly, as if that would make his point more valid.

“Fuck off, it’s not like I want to be a freaky klutz with steam blowing out of my nose every other hour. You get a lot of nosebleeds, you know.” 

“Yeah, because of your fucking  _ face _ ,” Eren muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Wait up, Gramps, I’m coming with you,” Isabel said quickly, not wanting to deal with their aggressive flirting-slash-banter anymore. She walked briskly towards the exit to go retrieve Bernie the bird. Farlan chuckled quietly and followed her. 

There was a moment of silence after they left, and Eren couldn’t decide if it was awkward or not. 

“You were saying something about my face?” Levi finally asked with a hint of a smirk. Eren’s ears turned bright red, but he didn’t back down.

“I said it hurts to look at,” Eren paused, before adding in, “ _ Sir _ .”

Levi rolled his eyes, saying something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a “tch” and “insufferable brat,” but his smirk had morphed into an amused grin. Eren gaped at him.

“Is that a smile I see, Heichou? Is the Underground’s very own cold-hearted clean-freak _ smiling _ ?” 

His grin fell into a scowl. “No.” 

Eren sat down, leaning back against a rock. “Sure.” 

Levi sat down next to him. Instead of bantering, they cloud gazed. Eren yawned, pointing out a cloud that looked like a horse, and watching as the sun lowered in the sky. Levi didn’t say anything when Eren’s head fell onto his shoulders. He just glanced at him and was mildly stunned to see him fast asleep. Levi didn’t move. It was the most peaceful that he’s seen him in a while. Usually his nights were plagued by nightmares, so he let him sleep. 

Eventually, he dozed off too, and Isabel and Farlan (and Bernie) came back to see them snuggled up together, just like they always do during the night, but this time there were no signs of fear, no signs of discomfort. They both looked peaceful and innocent, just as kids should.

Isabel poked Eren’s head. “Should we…?”

Farlan shook his head gently. “Let’s wait,” he said with a knowing smile. 

(In the end, Bernie’s chirping is what woke them up. Levi pushed Eren off of him and Eren fell face-first. “Not again,” he mumbled, spitting out the swampy gravel that had managed to get past his lips. Levi looked like he wanted to laugh, but for the sake of his reputation as a stone-faced-bastard, he didn’t.

Once they were fully awake and Isabel had stopped sending them odd glances, she uncupped her hands and freed Bernie. They all watched the little bird flutter past the rim of the cave and past the surface, making its way up and soaring, each of them wondering when it will be their turn to fly, to reach for their own freedom.)

##  — 

Sometimes, people were just assholes for no reason. This was especially true in the Underground. Eren’s first experience in the Underground was being shoved down a staircase and then mugged and robbed, so Eren wasn’t really all that surprised.

Eren usually didn’t go out much, other than to train and get supplies, but one day he went out of a stroll to clear his head after a particularly bad nightmare. No one else was home, Farlan was doing  _ something _ that involved gangs, Levi was probably off being Levi and scaring children or whatever, and Isabel left earlier to sit by some old man she made friends with and sing for food. Eren thought he might bump into her. And he did. 

But unfortunately, some other thugs bumped into her first. Eren found her cornered and surrounded by three guys who seemed to have stolen her food. They were closing in on Isabel, and though she had a fierce look in her eyes and was in a fighting stance, she also looked nervous (unsurprisingly, considering she was heavily outmatched and outnumbered). One of the guys was clutching at his cheek and his lip was bleeding, but he was grinning. 

“What a feisty little thing you are,” he said, and Isabel tried going in for another punch, but the guy caught her fist.

“You wanna go, dickhead?” Isabel screamed, trying to break his grip, but he pulled her in and covered her mouth with his hand and getting in a little too close. That was enough to make Eren furious. He stormed over to the group of guys. Isabel met his eyes and instantly flooded with relief, then worry. His gaze bounced back over to the thugs, one of which had noticed him. 

“Ooh, incoming, her puny boyfriend has come to save the day,” he taunted, which only riled Eren up more. The other two looked back at him, and once Eren saw the looks on their faces—teasing him, mocking him, underestimating him—he lost any shred of common sense he might’ve had and simply charged. 

“Don’t you touch her!” he screamed, and with the element of surprise on his side he punched the shortest guy in the stomach with all the force he could muster. The guy’s eyes widened before he doubled over and fell on his knees, coughing up blood and his eyes fluttering. He tried wiping off the blood, tried to send a dumbfounded look Eren’s way, but he was swaying and couldn’t quite meet his eye. 

“How the fuck…?” he murmured as he fell, head hitting the ground and knocking him out like a light. The others froze, looking at their companion in horror, but Eren didn’t hesitate. He tried to do the same thing to the one closest to Isabel, but the guy dodged and kneed Eren in the chest instead. The breath was knocked out of him. It wasn’t as strong as his punch, but it  _ hurt _ . Eren tried again, trying to remember what Levi had taught him. Strength wasn’t all there was to a fight, but Eren’s blood was boiling and he couldn’t rely on his wits if the only thing on his mind was  _ rage. _ He yelled for no particular reason. He tried kicking, hard enough to break his shins. This time his toes hit the guy’s leg, hard enough to make him stumble. But Eren stumbled too from the force of his own kick. The last guy, the tallest, came up behind him and grabbed his arms and bent them forcefully in all the wrong ways. Eren screamed, frantically struggling and trying to break his grip but he was still off balance, the guy was practically holding him up. The other one came up in front of him and he was kicking, Eren his face jerked violently to the side, felt something in his mouth that he was forced to spit out. Oh. A tooth. Another kick, and black spots danced in his vision. 

“I’m going to  _ kill _ you,” Eren snarled, his voice muffled by the blood pooling in his mouth. He managed to plant his feet and pushed himself off the ground with enough strength to break out of the grip on his wrists and make the concrete crack. The guy got one last kick before Eren practically flew up and, well, headbutted him aggressively enough to knock him out. Eren was on his feet again but the world was spinning now and he was unsteady. He turned to look for the last guy. He stopped dead when he saw him holding Isabel up by the scruff of her collar, grinning wildly and holding a knife. 

“Crazy brat,” he said, tightening his grip on Isabel and grabbing her hair while she struggled, swearing and trying to fight him off. “If I can’t hurt you, I’ll hurt her.” 

Eren had to muster up all the self-control he could because lashing out would result in him hurting Isabel before he could even get to them. His couldn’t feel his arms, his legs were shaking, not from fear, but from adrenaline and fury and fatigue. He could feel his body struggle to stay upright, but as long as he was awake he could throw a punch. 

“You son of a bitch!” he roared, voice distorted and shaking. “You don’t know who you’re messing with. I won’t let you get out of this unscathed! I’ll tear you to pieces!” But his knees were starting to buckle, and the pain was enough to make his eyes sting, to force him to double over and couch up his insides. The guy started to laugh. 

“I’d like to see you try,” the guy scoffed, easily dodging a punch sent by Isabel. She dug her heel into his foot to try and loosen his grip but he wouldn’t budge. She was becoming more frantic by the moment eyeing Eren worriedly as he staggered closer to them. 

And then the guy froze, letting go of Isabel and yelling in anguish. Eren looked up in surprise, and Isabel whirled around. A knife stuck out of his shoulder, deep enough that his arm could have ripped off easily. Levi was standing behind him. He pulled out the blade in one fluid moment, his eyes colder than usual. Then he kicked the back of his knees to make him kneel forwards, before walking around to face him, grabbing him by the shirt and sending a single, clean punch right into his face. The guy fell forwards and Levi pressed into the back of his head with his shoe. “Tch, idiot,” he said, taking out his handkerchief and beginning to clean off his knife. He looked at Isabel, who was rubbing her swelling face, but otherwise looked okay, and at Eren, who was silently kind of dying on the floor. Levi’s eyes softened the slightest bit. “You good or what?” 

“Peac’y,” Eren grit out as clearly as he could through a swelling face, a couple of lost teeth, probably broken ribs and like 69 different injuries. He was on all fours and shaking like a leaf, steam seeming to pore out of every inch of his skin. He struggled to breathe, and it felt like he was on fire, a numbing kind of fire that was painful to the point where it was hard to get used to. He looked up at Levi and smiled weakly, before collapsing, his face reunited with the ground once more. “I canf’ mobe,” he mumbled miserably into the ground. Isabel came running over to him, falling to her knees by his side. 

“Are you okay, Little Bro? I managed to get one of those assholes in the face, but there were too many,” she said, panicking and trying to check his wounds. Eren didn’t even try to answer. Levi made his way over, deep in thought. He put a hand on Isabel’s hair and ruffled, and she froze, before relaxing a little. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy. Eren was still conscious but too exhausted to even move. 

“I wonder,” Levi mused, “If there’s a point where having your power becomes a disadvantage.” Eren had never gotten so beat up before, at least as far back as he could remember. The worst injuries were that stab wound he first woke up with, and then the time he was pushed down a staircase. Maybe that’s how far his body could go before completely giving up on him.

“Siv’ effec’s,” Eren mumbled bitterly into the ground. “‘Ow wove’y.”   
“Alright soldier, let’s go,” Levi said. “I’ll try to be careful.” Eren didn’t bother trying to figure out what in the everliving fuck Levi was talking about until he felt his world turn upside down and with the move there was pain in every bone in his body and he was being lifted up. Eren tried to turn his head, but he simply couldn’t. He was completely limp in Levi’s arms, being held bridal style with every part of him screaming in pain. “You’ll be fine, we’re not far,” Levi said softly into his ear, quiet enough that Isabel didn’t hear. “Just hold on, okay?” 

And so, Eren was carried bridal style home by Levi for the second time in his life.

(His healing powers worked their magic eventually, but Eren was paralyzed for the rest of the day, going in and out of consciousness. Levi stayed by him until he could move again, scowling at Farlan when he remarked that Eren didn’t need a guard dog.)

##  —

Levi sat down beside Eren while he was resting and slammed a plank of gridded wood beside him, loud enough to make Isabel, who was sitting on the couch, jump. He ignored her and looked Eren straight in the eye. “You’re playing chess with me.” 

Eren managed to sit up slowly, eyeing him wearily. “Yes sir..?”

“You know how to play?” he asked tersely. Eren nodded, then stopped and frowned. He furrowed his eyebrow. 

“Apparently.” He didn’t know  _ how _ he knew how to play, because he didn’t recall ever learning, but he filed that under the things that happened before he lost his memories and tried not to think about it. Levi sat crisscrossed and put the board in front of him, then he took out a handful of small wooden pieces. Most of them were chipped and worn, but it was the game that mattered. As long as they could play… 

“Um, Heichou? There’s only one black bishop…” 

Levi narrowed his eyes and picked up the king, inspecting it. “So?”

“We need two for each side.” Eren looked down at the pieces and frowned. “Come to think of it, there aren’t enough rooks either. How are we going to play?” 

Levi blinked. “Rooks?” 

Eren absentmindedly picked up the only rook they had and twirled it with his fingers. “Yeah, the… wait, do  _ you _ know how to play chess?” Eren asked, quickly looking back up at him. Levi scowled, but didn’t meet his eye. He put down the king and crossed his arms. 

“Tch. Of course I do,” he muttered. “You move diagonally… and cut some bitches…” 

Eren stared, trying not to laugh. “I think that’s checkers.” 

Isabel popped in out of nowhere, her innocent gaze on Levi. “Big Bro doesn’t know how to play chess? I’ll play with you.” 

“I know how to play,” Levi growled, putting the pieces on the board, skipping every other square and doing the order completely wrong. This time, Eren couldn’t hold back his laugh. He faked a cough to try and brush it off but Levi glared. 

“C’mon, let me play,” Isabel whined, leaning over and moving the pieces to their correct places, to Levi’s dismay. He tried to swat her hand away like an angry kitten. 

Eren grinned and started helping her fix the pieces. “Hold on, Izzy, let’s teach him how the game works first.”

And so they did. Eren thought he did a pretty okay job at explaining the rules, and Isabel left at some point to find Farlan because they were taking too long. Levi didn’t say anything while Eren was talking, he just stared at the board blankly, and sometimes at him. Eren had to wonder if he was really even listening. It was a nice distraction, anyways. The past few days had been filled with nightmares, but Eren couldn’t quite remember them, which made him frustrated. It didn’t help that he wasn’t completely healed from the whole fight. He was sore enough that walking around hurt, and being bedridden meant that he was jittery and restless. All he could really think about was his memories, his freaky strength, and his nightmares. Did Levi bring in the game just to cheer him up? 

“Where’s you even get the set?” Eren asked, furrowing his brows. It wasn’t easy to get anything in the Underground, especially not a board game. No one had the leisure time to play games. 

“I have my ways.” He started to pick at his nails. Eren noticed that they were crusted red. He decided not to ask about it.

“Ready to play, sir?”

“Yeah.” 

They both sat there, staring at the bored. 

“You’re white,” Eren said helpfully.

“Yeah. I’m French.” 

Eren blinked. “No, I mean white goes first.” 

“That’s racist.”

“The white pieces, Heichou.” 

“Oh. Right.” He looked at the board and picked up a pawn from the middle. “Still racist.” He moved it diagonally to the left. 

“That’s not… you’re supposed to move pawns forward. In this case, you can move it forward twice, since it’s its first move.” 

“This is ridiculous,” Levi grumbled, bringing it back and moving the pawn forward. Eren chuckled and moved his knight to the front. Levi narrowed his eyes. “I thought they couldn’t move through other pieces.”

“Knights can. They’re funky like that.” 

They played a few more moves. Eren went easy, but the first time he used his pawn to take one of Levi’s, he slammed his fist down. 

“You said that pawns can’t move diagonally.” 

Eren bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. “They can’t, unless they’re taking a piece.” 

“This is completely unfair,” Levi said, flipping the board. The pieces clattered when they hit the ground and Eren was left bewildered as Levi turned around and walked straight out the door. Eren got his chance to laugh after that. Maybe he was trying to cheer him up. 

(Levi stormed back in a half an hour later, blood on his shirt, a button missing from his vest, and his hair dishevelled. He slammed down a deck of cards. “You’re playing spoons with me.”

“Heichou, you can’t play spoons with two people,” Eren said, stifling a smile.

He blinked. Then he punched in the fucking wall. “Fuck.”)

##  — 

At some point in time, they were chilling at a bar. Everyone around them was cheering. There was a very intense arm-wrestling battle going on in the middle of the room, but the four were sitting closest to the door, in their own little bubble.

Isabel stuffed a bun in her mouth, barely chewing. “How ‘bout the Three Musketeers?”

“There’s four of us,” Farlan pointed out, flicking an empty bottle.

“Little Bro doesn’t count.” 

Eren perked up, slamming his fists on the table. “Hey! Why not?” 

“Because you’re magic.” 

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Eren complained, standing up. Levi grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him back down, glaring at him. 

“We don’t need a fucking name,” Levi said for the millionth time. 

“What about… Eren and the Three Musketeers,” Eren offered, swatting Levi’s hand away. 

“That’s dumb. We could combine our names? Hm… LEIF.”

“Why is mine at the end?”

“FaLeIsEr,” Eren mumbled.

“Because you’re the least interesting.”

“I’m  _ what _ ?”

“LeErFaIs…”

“Shut up, brat. This is dumb,” Levi said, putting his plate to the side and flicking Eren’s forehead. The cheering suddenly got louder and Levi glanced up. The bartender, who was laughing and flexing his muscles in the middle of the room, met his eye. He smirked.

“Hey! You thugs from the Underground! You got any balls?” he shouted at Levi, calling all attention to them. Eren and Farlan look at him curiously, but Isabel frowns.

“Thugs from the Underground,” she muttered. “See? That’s why we need a name.” 

“Do you think people would actually call us by a name?” Farlan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Definitely not,” Isabel said. “But other gangs have names. It’s for a sense of unity.” 

“We’re not a gang,” Levi deadpanned.

“We totally are.” 

“A gang has more than four people.”

“Three people and Eren.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

“Hey!” the bartender cut in. “You going to play me or not? If you win, the meals on the house. You can take anything you want. Heck, you could take my wife.” He jerked a thumb towards the woman clearing a table. She looked up, alarmed. 

“Excuse me?”

The bartender waved her off. “It’s not like I’ll lose,” he assured her.

The four of them were staring at him. Eren started to stand up, but Levi grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him down.   
“Anything I want, huh?” Levi’s gaze flickered to the shelves. “I’ll do it.” 

“Go Big Bro!” Isabel cheered. 

“I was going to do it,” Eren muttered, rubbing his shoulder. 

Farlan just hummed as Levi made his way to the middle of the room and everyone broke out into clamours, making bets. Isabel grinned and looked at Eren. 

“I bet you Big Bro’ll win.” 

“There’s no doubt,” Eren said, crossing his arms and watching the two set up, standing across from one another and setting their elbows down on the barrel. 

“C’mon, make a bet with me, Little Bro.” 

Eren narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Bet he won’t take anything but a free meal,” he said, eyeing the old lady. “He’s got no use for her, or anything in this dump.”

She glanced at Levi. “Nah, he’ll take something. If you win I’ll give you cash.”

“Ten bucks.”

Isabel smirked. “Sure,” she said. “But if I win…” 

She came closer and whispered something in Eren’s ear, just as Levi slammed the barkeeper’s hand on the wood and the room went up in cheers. Isabel’s eyes shone as she sat back. Farlan was watching her, his eyes narrowed. Eren hesitated, his cheeks turning red. 

“You’re on.” 

The three of them turned to look at Levi. He was walking towards the lady. Eren’s face fell, and he shot a panicked look towards Isabel, who was smirking. 

“Don’t tell me we’re actually taking her,” Farlan muttered.

The bartender was in shock, begging Levi not to take his wife and practically falling to his knees. Levi paid him no attention, just reached up by the lady’s head and plucked a box from the shelf behind her. “These tea leaves are rare, aren’t they?” he mused. 

Everyone in the bar watched him as he pulled up the hood of his cape, crossed the room and beckoned to his friends. 

“We’re leaving now.” 

The other three got up. Eren shot a dirty look towards Isabel before taking a few quick steps to catch up with Levi. He hooked his hands behind his back and smiled nervously.

“Hey, Levi?”

Levi raised his eyebrows, turning to look at Eren. “What happened to ‘Heichou’?”

He shrugged haphazardly, and before anyone could even blink, Eren bent down and pressed a quick kiss on Levi’s cheek, blushing furiously.

“You’ll share that tea with me, won’t you sir?” Eren mumbled, continuing to walk out the door as if nothing happened and trying to hide his burning face. Isabel and Farlan followed, pushing past Levi who was rooted to the floor in shock. Isabel was cackling, nudging Farlan with her elbow.

“He made the first move, you owe me too,” she said.

“You interfered. Isn’t that unfair?”

“No.” She stuck out her tongue.

Farlan sighed, pulling out some money and dropping it into her waiting hand. She shoved it into her pocket and ran out to catch up to Eren. The people in the bar, who had seen everything, broke out into cheers, hooting and wolf-whistling. Farlan stayed behind to literally drag a frozen Levi home. 

(They didn’t talk about it. They didn’t need to.)

##  — 

It was a year and a half after Eren started living with them when they were holding crates filled with food and flying back on the gear. Eren had gotten a lot better on the gear, but old habits die hard.

He crashed into a wall. 

It wasn’t his fault, though. He was swinging right behind Levi, and well, he was a little distracted. He didn’t retract the cables in time and rammed right into the side of a brick building. On instinct, he dropped the crate. He was only 10 feet above the ground, but the wood splintered and the food spilled. Eren somehow managed to peel himself off the wall, but gravity caused him to fall. Face-first. Of course. Oh, how the dirt missed his lovely face.

Isabel started cackling, not bothering to go and help him. Farlan was too far ahead to see what happened. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, stopping and going down. 

“I thought you were over this,” he sighed, holding his hand down to help Eren up. Eren chuckled sheepishly, glancing up at him through his eyelashes. He took his hand slowly. 

“Thanks, Heichou,” he mumbled, before pulling Levi down with him. It was unexpected, enough to make Levi slip and crash into the mud. Eren rolled to his side and looked at Levi with a grin. 

“I’m tired of kissing the ground.” 

Levi blinked. Eren grabbed him by the collar and pressed his lips against his. Levi didn’t try to pull away. His eyes widened a fraction before pulling him closer. Eren’s hand snaked up behind his head, and he grinned into the kiss when he threaded his fingers in Levi’s hair and felt mud. 

He pulled back to catch his breath, his eyes shining. “We’re dirty,” he said. Levi scowled, grabbing his waist and rolling them over so that he was straddling Eren. He pushed his face close enough that their noses touch. 

“It’s disgusting. You better not track mud in the house.” 

Eren laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

(It was obvious what happened when they both got home, muddied clothes, raw lips and, well, holding hands. It became their new normal. An unspoken promise. Isabel teased them relentlessly.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire chapter is fluff and it kills me because shit is happening next chapter. 
> 
> idk why, but "heichou" is so fun to say so eren says it. a lot. i don't care if it doesn't make sense. nothing makes sense.
> 
> i also feel like the characters aren't acting like themselves, but to be fair, eren lost his memories and is blatantly ignoring his problems, levi has friends, they're all kids, and my girl izzy and my boy farlan didn't get enough screen time so idk how they're supposed to act.
> 
> if you made it this far, i offer you my right kidney.


End file.
